Andrew Strauss retires from professional cricket

England Test skipper Andrew Strauss has announced his retirement from professional cricket. Alastair Cook, the ODI team's captain, will take over from Strauss in Test cricket as well.

Strauss, 35, was set to play for county side Middlesex against Worcestershire following the Test series loss to South Africa but withdrew from the team on the morning of the match starting Tuesday, leading to speculations in the media that he was about to resign from his post as Test captain. Strauss went one step further and called it quits with immediate effect.

Strauss has played exactly 100 Tests, the last of which was the game against South Africa at Lord's where his side surrendered the top spot in Test cricket. He scored 7037 runs at an average of 40.91 in those 100 Tests.

"After much thought over the last few weeks, I have decided to step down as England Test captain and announce my retirement from all forms of cricket.

"It has clearly been a tough decision to make, but I believe that it is both in the best interests of the England cricket team and myself to step down at this stage.

"There are too many people who have helped me on this incredible journey to mention them all by name, but I would like to thank all the Middlesex and England players I have played alongside, as well as the phenomenal coaches and support staff with whom I have been fortunate enough to work.

"Particular mention has to go to Andy Flower and Duncan Fletcher in that regard. It would also be remiss of me not to thank Middlesex county cricket club, the ECB and the PCA for their support and guidance over the years.

"No-one can play international cricket for any length of time without having an incredibly strong support network around them, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family for going through it all alongside me over the course of my England career.

"I am extremely proud of everything I have achieved as a cricketer, and I have found myself very fortunate to play in an era when some of English cricket's greatest moments have occurred.

"I have loved every minute of it and all that remains is for me to wish Andy, Alastair and the rest of the team the very best for the coming months. I will be an interested spectator."

The new captain Alastair Cook paid rich tribute to Strauss, saying the latter was a skipper who led from the front.

"Andrew's contribution to England cricket in recent years is evident to everyone who follows the sport, but only those of us who have been lucky enough to share a dressing room with him are fully aware of his immense contribution to our success.

"He has been a fantastic captain, has led from the front for three and a half years and is a true ambassador for the game.

"To have played 100 Tests for your country is a phenomenal achievement and I want to congratulate him on a superb career.

"I know this can't have been an easy decision for him and everyone in the dressing room will be sad to see him go.

"I'm very excited by this new challenge, it is a huge honour to be appointed Test captain and I am very much looking forward to captaining the side in India this winter and beyond, but my immediate focus is on this current NatWest one-day series.

"Once the series is over I will turn my attention to the Test captaincy and building on the work Andrew has started."

Strauss, in charge since 2009, saw England lose their number one ranked Test status to South Africa this month following a 2-0 defeat in a three-match series where the opening batsman struggled for runs.

He has enjoyed modest returns with the bat in recent years and his 122 against the West Indies in May was his first Test century since November 2010.

He followed up with another century, his 21st and one shy of the England all-time record, at Trent Bridge but averaged just 17.83 in six innings against the South Africans.

Strauss acknowledged the loss of form and even attributed his retirement to it, saying he was not batting well enough as he would have liked.

"For me, the driver to it all was frankly my form with bat. I haven't batted well enough for a long period of time now. For a captain to perform his role properly it's important not to be a passenger and it's important that people aren't speculating whether you should be in the side. I wasn't going to improve batting-wise, I've run my race. If I'm honest, I'd very much like to go out on my own terms with my head held high."

He denied that the Kevin Pietersen saga had anything to do with his decision, saying he had already made up his mind before the situation became big.

"Not in any way. I've been thinking about it for a while. It hasn't been a consideration at all for me. I was pretty sure I was going to make this decision before the Kevin Pietersen situation arose."

He is now the third England skipper to be 'seen off' in as many tours of England by South Africa captain Graeme Smith. Nasser Hussain resigned during the England-South Africa series in 2003, Smith's first series as Proteas skipper, and Michael Vaughan stood down five years later.